CHILD REGISTRATIONS
Last year, we accepted 120 children for VBS and had to close registration early; regretfully disappointing many children. At Saint Matthews we are dedicated to providing quality and safe programming for our cadets again this year; our leaders are all trained in child safety issues and we try to keep classes to a maximum of 15 to ensure all our cadets will have an inspiring, energetic and tremendously fun week.

Small print/disclaimer information to note: By registering for Saint Matthew's VBS program, you are giving your authorization for appropriate photos or video of your child taken at VBS to be used on our web site, in our newsletters and in our VBS slide show for Sunday Worship. Children's names will not be published however.

FAQ

Do most of the children at VBS attend Saint Matthews? 

• Not at all! While Saint Matthews has over 70 children registered for Sunday School, the vast majority who attend VBS are from the local community and from many different churches and denominations from around the Charleston area.

• VBS is an important outreach ministry for Saint Matthews, so we do not charge families to participate. However we welcome donations if you would like to help; either monetary or requested supplies.  

• Each child will be provided with one t-shirt to wear as their "Space Cadet Uniform" and we ask that they wear it each day. We do however, offer you the opportunity to purchase additional t-shirts at cost if you prefer. Please ensure you carefully mark your child's size on the form, and you can also order additional t-shirts here too.

• For child t-shirt sizing information, click here

• If ordering additional t-shirts, please send a check payable to Saint Matthews Episcopal Church, (36 Norwood Rd, Charleston WV 25314) with "VBS t-shirt + Child's Name" noted on the memo line. All t-shirts must be paid for before the order deadline which is usually 2 weeks prior to VBS.

• At the end of the day, we are responsible for ensuring that 120 children are safely reunited with their guardians. That can be difficult when over half of the children are new to Saint Matthews. So we ask that you give us the names and contact information for 2 people who are authorized to collect your chid. This is in addition to the parents already listed on the registration form. We will then issue several "Collection Cards" which you can distribute to these authorized people. These cards must be shown at the class pew, before your child will be released.

• If you forget the card, we have a noon registration desk that will check photo ID's against the child's registration form. If the person is not authorized, we will call the parents to get permission before allowing the child to leave.

• We accept children from Age 3 who are fully potty trained through to children in 6th Grade.

• Children in 7th grade and over are welcome to volunteer as teenage helpers, and we can give community service hours for their time.

• NEW THIS YEAR: We are offering a Youth Program this year for the older children in 5th and 6th Grades - they will be doing interactive work throughout the week instead of the usual VBS rotations. This will include making videos and a newspaper of the week's events.

• Children will be allocated to a class dependant on their age group. Please do not ask us to move children up to be with older children as all classes are full and for safety reasons, we allow a maximum of 15 children per class. We ensure the materials and activities are suitable for the age range we are catering to in each class too. We keep them so busy, that young children quickly settle into the routine and soon settle in on their own.

• Each day starts in the church for Morning Assembly, where the cadets will meet to interact with the Starship Captain (Fr. Bill) and Galileo the Green Gorilla on the bridge of the Starship Galatic Blast. Here they will learn the Praise Phrase for the day, get dancing to the VBS music, bring forward items for our mission project and get ready for the morning ahead.

• After Assembly, classes have a rotation to follow each day. Each class will enjoy time in Music, Craft, Recreation, Bible Storytelling and reflection time. Midmorning, we provide everyone with a drink and healthy snack. Age appropriate activities are provided for the different classes.

• We end back in the church for Closing Assembly, to review the day and sing the new music learned that day.

• Yes! We will send full details out before the week starts. With so many children attending, we insist that any children with a fever, colored mucus, diarrhea or vomiting are kept away until 24 hours after the symptom has passed (in the case of fever, without the use of medication.)

• We will isolate children who we feel need to go home, and after contacting parents, will keep them supervised until you are able to collect them.

• All leaders will carry a plentiful supply of hand-sanitizer, and children will be encourage to wash hands whenever possible.

• We usually have at least one trained medic available who can assist immediately if any medical issue arises during the week.
  
  

Thank you for reading the above information. If you are now ready to commit to this Galactic Blast Mission, please continue to our online registration site:

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WAITING LIST ONLINE

Please confirm your child's t-shirt size here first